1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to microscope systems.
This application is based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2007-316184, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference.
2. Description of Related Art
In order to perform driving of an objective lens or other part with high precision, a known laser scanning microscope in the related art is equipped with a vibration damping mechanism including a weight and a viscoelastic member (see Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, Publication No. 2001-221733).
In the vibration damping mechanism disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, Publication No. 2001-221733, by sandwiching a viscoelastic member between a fixed portion fixed to an objective lens and a weight provided on the fixed portion so as to be capable of moving only in the optical-axis direction, which is the moving direction of the objective lens, via a hinge, the viscoelastic member is made to expand and contract in response to vibrations, thus damping the vibrations of the objective lens.
However, although the vibration damping mechanism disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, Publication No. 2001-221733 can stabilize and dampen vibrations associated with movement and stopping in the optical-axis direction of the objective lens, the vibrations associated with movement and stopping of the objective lens are not limited only to those in the optical-axis direction; therefore, it is necessary to provide separate countermeasures for the vibrations in other directions.
In addition, a microscope system includes multiple optical components that need to be moved for high-speed positioning, not just the objective lens, and it is necessary to dampen vibrations in a plurality of directions effectively and quickly also in these optical components.